The Brooklyn Nets gained some breathing room in the battle for a playoff berth by beating the visiting Portland Trail Blazers 106-96 on Monday.
With center Brook Lopez scoring 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds, seventh-place Brooklyn moved one full game in front of the eighth-place Boston Celtics with a victory in the only NBA game of the night.
The Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat, who share ninth place in the Eastern Conference, now sit two full games behind the Nets. Brooklyn, Boston, Indiana and Miami each have five regular-season games remaining.
The loss leaves Portland two games behind the Memphis Grizzlies in the battle for the third seed in the Western Conference. As the Northwest Division champions, the Blazers can fall no lower than fourth in the seeding.
On Tuesday, the bottom of the West standings will be in play. The NBA-leading Golden State Warriors travel to battle the ninth-place New Orleans Pelicans, while the sixth-place San Antonio Spurs play the eighth-place Thunder in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder, who are riding a three-game losing streak, begin play with a half-game edge on the Pelicans.
NBA PLAYOFF PICTURE THROUGH GAMES OF APRIL 6
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. *Atlanta Hawks (57-19), Southeast Division champions
2. *Cleveland Cavaliers (50-27), Central Division leaders
3. *Chicago Bulls (46-31)
4. *Toronto Raptors (45-32), Atlantic Division champions
5. *Washington Wizards (44-33)
6. Milwaukee Bucks (38-39)
7. Brooklyn Nets (36-41)
8. Boston Celtics (35-42)
—
T9. Indiana Pacers (34-43)
T9. Miami Heat (34-43)
11. Charlotte Hornets (33-43)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. *Golden State Warriors (63-14), Pacific Division champions
2. *Houston Rockets (53-24), Southwest Division leaders
3. *Memphis Grizzlies (52-25)
4. *Portland Trail Blazers (50-27), Northwest Division champions
5. *Los Angeles Clippers (52-26)
6. *San Antonio Spurs (51-26)
7. Dallas Mavericks (46-31)
8. Oklahoma City Thunder (42-35)
—
9. New Orleans Pelicans (41-35)
* — clinched playoff berth